Recent Media

Terrance Malick's gorgeous and painful epic opens with several sequences from Triumph of the Will. It's an uncomfortable opening because it's obviously a nod to Leni Riefenstahl's mastery of cinematic technique and dazzling technical innovations, and at the same time a hint about what's to come thematically.

I won't go into the plot at all here, or the characters. But I'm pretty sure Malick chose this material at this time for a reason. There is a scene in the film where an artist working in a church discusses how Christians look at art featuring scenes from Christ's life. They imagine themselves living at that time and being on the right side of history. Of course we all do that when we think of the past. Were I alive then I would have made the ethical choice despite the consequences, right?

The film shows us one man's decision to do the right thing during a terrible epoch despite enormous costs for himself and his family. There are terrible things happening right now, awful things bubbling up in the zeitgest. What decisions will we all have to make? Malick wants you to think about it. Along the way, every frame is a carefully thought-out work of art. Seriously, the guy has chops. Stunning Sven Nykvist level cinematography.




Zhang Yimou and Gong Li--one of the greatest director lead/actor teams ever, perhaps the greatest since Bergman/Ullmann? Great to see her back in a role reminiscent of her powerhouse turn in The Story of Qui Ju. This time she doesn't need the makeup.

Yimou obviously has tremendous weight to get away with making films which criticize or expose realities of the Chinese Communist system that others would never be allowed to film or release. Has the typical tear-jerking ending.




I thought the novel was horrifying and too real when it came out during the W. reign in the USA. Now under Trump it's much more horrifying. Good to see Baltimore stalwarts Simon and Burns back together again and making TV for HBO. I had some problems with the pacing, but after the finale it all made sense: slow, steady simmering build, then crashing awful finish. You can watch the series as similar events unfurl in the new concurrently. What fun!

Netflix

Our latest HBO TV series via Netflix project, and we're hooked. Seems silly to keep watching these shows we know got cancelled before achieving fruition, but what they hey? Gotta kill time somehow.

An avatar is found by a roving band of carnies during the Great Depression. Like most avatars, Ben Hawkins doesn't really understand his gifts or his role. Lots of creepy mutants, mystical visions, supernaturally gifted weirdos, and hot chicks. And Tarot symbolism.

Plus, it's good to see Michael J. Anderson in something other than a David Lynch production:

Senatus Populusque Romanus

Sometimes friends try to tell me that television sucks now, and that television was much better when we were kids. That's utter bullshit. I grew up on wretchedly bad TV shows like Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, The Dukes of Hazzard, etc. I suffered through a spate of variety shows--including Donny and Marie, Captain and Tennille, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and Sonny & Cher--and still bear the scars. There were good shows when I was a kid, like All in the Family and pre-maudlin M*A*S*H, but those were rare bright spots cancelled out by insufferable pap like I Dream of Genie and Gilligan's Island.

Of course I'm comparing apples and oranges, because my argument that TV is much better now rests firmly on the strength of several HBO series I've watched lately on DVD, including The Wire and Deadwood. I don't know that broadcast TV has better shows than those when I was a kid because I don't watch broadcast channels often enough. But at least one pay channel is cranking out damn good series.

We finished Deadwood's amazing second season and eagerly await the third on DVD. I love the way expectations are foiled, and how calamatous Fate can claim seemingly vital characters without warning. I love this show for its Shakespearean subplots and its operatic intensity.

I watched HBO's Rome after Julio recommended it, and was completely blown away. The subject matter is perfectly honed for our era of executive over-reach and imperial wars. I don't think television had ever before made the hair stand up on the back of my neck, but the finale of the penultimate episode of Rome's first season did just that. Puts that Russel Crowe Gladiator crap to shame. This is really clever television, dramatizing history in an engaging and realistic manner. It's brutal, bloody, and damn sexy to boot. Like, totally awesome.

I need something to watch now while we wait for The Wire season 4, Deadwood season 3, and Rome season 2 to come out on DVD. I suppose Battlestar Galactica is next? Might as well find out what all the fuss is about.